GRAYS CONVENT HIGH SCHOOL DIOCESE OF BRENTWOOD
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GRAYS CONVENT HIGH SCHOOL
DIOCESE OF BRENTWOOD
CATHOLIC SECONDARY ADMISSION
S
POLICY 2021/2022
(TO BE RETURNED DIRECTLY TO GRAYS CONVENT
HIGH SCHOOL TOGETHER WITH ANY EVIDENCE IN
SUPPORT OF THIS APPLICATION
Grays Convent High School was founded by the La Sainte Union Sisters to provide education for
children of Catholic families. Whenever there are more applications than places available, priority will
always be given to Catholic children in accordance with the oversubscription criteria listed below. The
school is conducted by its Governing Body as part of the Catholic Church in accordance with its trust
deed and instrument of government and seeks at all times to be a witness to Our Lord Jesus Christ.
As a Catholic school, we aim to provide a Catholic education for all our pupils. At a Catholic school,
Catholic doctrine and practice permeate every aspect of the school’s activity. It is essential that the
Catholic character of the school’s education be fully supported by all families in the school. We
therefore hope that all parents will give their full, unreserved and positive support for the aims and
ethos of the school. This does not affect the right of an applicant who is not Catholic to apply for and
be admitted to a place at the school in accordance with the admission arrangements.
The Governing Body of Grays Convent High School is the admission authority and has responsibility
for admissions to this school. The local authority undertakes the co-ordination of admission
arrangements during the normal admission round. The Governing Body has set its admission number
at 124 girls to year 7 in the school year which begins in September 2021.
Pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan or a Statement of Special Educational Needs (see
note 1)
The admission of pupils with a statement of Special Educational Needs or an Education, Health and
Care Plan is dealt with by a completely separate procedure. Girls with a Statement of Special
Educational Needs or Education, Health and Care Plan that names the school must be admitted.
Where this takes place before the allocation of places under these arrangements this will reduce the
number of places available to other children.
Oversubscription Criteria
At any time where there are more applications for places than the number of places available, places
will be offered according to the following order of priority:
1. Catholic looked after and previously looked after girls. (see note 2)
2. Catholic girls who attend a feeder Catholic primary school, namely, St Thomas of Canterbury
Catholic Primary School, Grays; St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Stanford le Hope; Holy
Cross Catholic Primary School, South Ockendon; St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Tilbury (see
note 3)
3. Other Catholic girls. (see note 3)
4. Other looked after and previously looked after girls. (see note 4)
5. Catechumens and members of an Eastern Christian Church. (see notes 5 & 6)
6. Girls of other Christian denominations (see note 7)
7. Girls of other faiths whose membership is evidenced by a minister of religion or other religious
leader (see note 8)
8. Any other girls.
1Within each of the categories listed above, the following provisions will be applied in the following
order.
(i) Where evidence is provided at the time of application of an exceptional social, medical or
pastoral need of the child which can be most appropriately met at this school, the application
will be placed at the top of the category in which the application is made. (see note 10)
(ii) The attendance of a sister at the school at the time of enrolment will increase the priority of
an application within each category so that the application will be placed at the top of the
category in which the application is made after children in (i) above. (see note 8)
Tie Break
Priority will be given to girls living closest to the school determined by the shortest distance in each
category. Distances are calculated [on the basis of a straight-line measurement between the front
door of the child’s home address (including the community entrance to flats) and the main entrance
of the school. In the event of distances being the same for two or more children where this would
determine the last place to be allocated, random allocation will be carried out and supervised by a
person independent of the school. All the names will be entered into a hat and the required number
of names will be drawn out.
Application Procedures and Timetable
To apply for a place at this school in the normal admission round, you must complete a Common
Application Form available from Thurrock Local Authority https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/secondary-
school-admissions/applying-for-secondary-school-place
You are also requested to complete the Supplementary Information Form attached to this policy if
you wish to apply under oversubscription criteria 1 to 3 or 5 or 6. The Supplementary Information
Form should be returned to Admissions, Grays Convent High School, College Avenue, Grays RM17
5UX by 31ST OCTOBER 2020.
You will be advised of the outcome of your application on 1st March or the next working day, by the
local authority on our behalf. If you are unsuccessful (unless your child gained a place at a school you
ranked higher) you will be informed of the reasons, related to the oversubscription criteria listed
above, and you have the right of appeal to an independent appeal panel.
If you do not provide the information required in the SIF and return it by the closing date, together
with all supporting documentation, your child will not be placed in criteria 1 to 3 or 5 or 6, and this
is likely to affect your child’s chance of being offered a place.
All applications which are submitted on time will be considered at the same time and after the
closing date for admissions which is 31st October 2020.
Late Applications
Late applications will be administered in accordance with Thurrock Local Authority Secondary Co-
ordinated Admissions Scheme. You are encouraged to ensure that your application is received on
time.
2Admission of Children Outside their Normal Age Group
A request may be made for a child to be admitted outside their normal age group, for example if the
girl is gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health.
Any such request should be made in writing to Admissions, Grays Convent High School, College
Avenue, Grays RM17 5UX at the same time as the admission application is made. The Governing Body
will make its decision about the request based on the circumstances of each case and in the best
interests of the child. In addition to taking into account the views of the head teacher, including the
head teacher’s statutory responsibility for the internal organisation, management and control of the
school, the Governing Body will take into account the views of the parents and of appropriate medical
and education professionals, as appropriate.
If your child was daughter between 1 September 2006 to 31 August 2007 and you would like them to
start Year 10 in a University Technical College (UTC) or a Studio School in September 2021, you must
apply before 31 October 2020. You must complete an application even if you are applying for a place
outside Thurrock. https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/secondary-school-admissions/year-10-admissions
Waiting Lists
In addition to your right of appeal, unsuccessful children will be offered the opportunity to be placed
on a waiting list. This waiting list will be maintained in order of the oversubscription criteria set out
above and not in the order in which applications are received or added to the list. Waiting lists for
admission will operate throughout the school year. The waiting list will be held open until the last day
of the summer term, 16th July 2021.
Inclusion in the school’s waiting list does not mean that a place will eventually become available.
In-Year Applications
An application can be made for a place for a child at any time outside the admission round and the
child will be admitted where there are available places. Application should be made to Thurrock
Council, Admissions, https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/in-year-admissions/applying-in-year
Where there are places available but more applications than places, the published oversubscription
criteria, as set out above, will be applied.
If there are no places available, the child will be added to the waiting list within 10 days (and a
maximum of 15 days) (see above).
You will be advised of the outcome of your application in writing, and you have the right of appeal to
an independent appeal panel.
Fair Access Protocol
The school is committed to taking its fair share of children who are vulnerable and/or hard to place,
as set out in the Thurrock Fair Access agreed protocols. Accordingly, outside the normal admission
round the Governing Body is empowered to give absolute priority to a child where admission is
requested under the Thurrock agreed protocol. The Governing Body has this power even where
admitting the child would mean exceeding the published admission number.
The Governing Body reserves the right to withdraw the offer of a place or, where the child is already
attending the school, where it is satisfied that the offer or the place was obtained by deception.
3Notes (these notes form part of the oversubscription criteria)
1. A Statement of Special Education Needs is a statement made by the local authority under section
324 of the Education Act 1996, specifying the special educational provision for a child. An
Education, Health and Care Plan is a plan made by the local authority under section 37 of the
Children and Families Act 2014. Specifying the special educational provision required for a child.
2. A ‘looked after child’ has the same meaning as in section 22(1) of the Children Act 1989, and means
any child who is (a) in the care of a local authority or (b) being provided with accommodation by
them in the exercise of their social services functions (e.g. children with foster parents) at the time
of making application to the school.
A ‘previously looked after child’ is a child who was looked after, but ceased to be so because he
or she was adopted, or became subject to a child arrangements order, or special guardianship
order.
3. ‘Catholic’ means a member of a Church in full communion with the See of Rome. This includes the
Eastern Catholic Churches. This will normally be evidenced by a certificate of baptism in a Catholic
Church or a certificate of reception into the full communion of the Catholic Church. For the
purposes of this policy, it includes a looked after child who is part of a Catholic family where a
letter from a priest demonstrates that the child would have been baptised or received if it were
not for their status as a looked after child (e.g. a looked after child in the process of adoption by a
Catholic family).
For a child to be treated as Catholic, evidence of baptism or reception into the Church will be
required. Those who have difficulty obtaining written evidence of baptism should contact their
Parish Priest who, after consulting with the Diocese, will decide how the question of baptism is to
be resolved and how written evidence is to be produced in accordance with the laws of the
Church.
4. For the purposes of this admission policy, attendance at a feeder primary school includes those
who were prevented from attending a feeder school due to oversubscription of Catholics and
whose application to attend was unsuccessful, normally evidenced by a letter of rejection from
the feeder primary school.
5. ‘Catechumen’ means a member of the catechumenate of a Catholic Church. This will normally be
evidenced by a certificate of reception into the order of catechumens.
6. ‘Eastern Christian Church’ includes Orthodox Churches, and is normally evidenced by a certificate
of baptism or reception from the authorities of that Church.
6 (1) “Girls of other Christian denominations” means children who belong to other
churches and ecclesial communities which, acknowledge God’s revelation in Christ,
confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Saviour according to the Scriptures, and, in
obedience to God’s will and in the power of the Holy Spirit commit themselves: to
seek a deepening of their communion with Christ and with one another in the
Church, which is his body; and to fulfil their mission to proclaim the Gospel by
common witness and service in the world to the glory of the one God, Father, Son
and Holy Spirit. An ecclesial community which on principle has no credal statements
in its tradition, is included if it manifests faith in Christ as witnessed to in the
Scriptures and is committed to working in the spirit of the above.
46 (2) All members of Churches Together in England and CYTÛN are deemed to be included
in the above definition, as are all other churches and ecclesial communities that are
in membership of any local Churches Together Group (by whatever title) on the
above basis.
7. “Girls of other faiths” means children who are members of a religious community that does not
fall within the definition of ‘other Christian denominations’ at 7 above and which falls within the
definition of a religion for the purposes of charity law. The Charities Act 2011 defines religion to
include:
A religion which involves belief in more than one God, and
A religion which does not involve belief in a God.
Case law has identified certain characteristics which describe the meaning of religion for the
purposes of charity law, which are characterised by a belief in a supreme being and an expression
of belief in that supreme being through worship.
8. ‘Sister’ includes:
(i) all natural sisters, or half sisters, adopted sisters, sisters, foster sisters, whether or not
they are living at the same address; and
(ii) the daughter of a parent’s partner where that child for whom the school place is sought
lives for at least part of the week in the same family unit at the same address as the
applicant.
9. A ‘parent’ means all natural parents, any person who is not a parent but has parental responsibility
for a child, and any person who has care of a child.
10. To demonstrate an exceptional social, medical or pastoral need of the child which can be most
appropriately met at this school, the Governing Body will require compelling written evidence
from an appropriate professional, such as a social worker, doctor or priest.
11. A child’s “home address” refers to the address where the child usually lives with a parent or carer,
and will be the address provided in the Supplementary Information Form (“SIF”). Where parents
have shared responsibility for a child, and the child lives for part of the week with each parent,
the home address will be the address given in the SIF, provided that the child resides at that
address for any part of the school week.
Please read this in conjunction with the SIF which must be submitted by the date given in
Applications and Procedures and Timetables.
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